Ok - I give up. I looked at the repair manual, did a few searches at SL, did some Google searches - and can't find instructions to change the air filter. On my older cars you just took off the round cover and picked it up.

Looking at the engine I see where it is - there are 2 clips in front and hinges in the back. And many other hoses and wires that left me feeling a mite overwhelmed. Is there an easy way or do I have to disconnect some hoses to get to it?
Help!!!!

 

just pop the clips , tilt it back and then pry out the old and slip in the new

 

http://groups.msn.com/Sorensonbrian/...rcleaning.msnw

Here is the link with pics. It's on the lower part of the page.

 

Yes, most people don't put it on to drive slower.

 

OK- looks much less scary now. What a great website! Thanks -it is now bookmarked.

I will take my tools w/ me, drive to NJ for Xmas and change the filter there (unless it snows or something) and drive home w/ new filter. The miles is the same, elevation about equal, and unless I get traffic in one direction and not the other I will be able to compare, especially w/ SG II.

The local auto parts store has NGK and Bosch plugs - the Bosch costs in between the NGK and Denso's).

Jeff- what does the bigger gap do - everything I've heard says not to gap iridiums. So that is my next research.

 

HotBox and Vintage -

I figure the sway bar can save mpg by not being forced to lose power by braking before a tight turn, LOL.

Seriously - I don't wnat to make alot of mods but the ones I do want to do are for mpg because I'm stingy and want to do my part for the planet, and for handling because I like to drive a fun car but don't need power to be fun. The fun part and road feel is important to me - I have ADD and I drive better when I pay attention. So I like a car I can pay attention in.

My second choice car was the Civic Hybrid but I needed room for kids and camping gear and the occasional canoe or bikes. I don't like to drive the Prius - not fun and the big screen TV is too distracting. The Ford Escape Hybrid was nice but an extra 10K bucks.
I have the xB because it's cute, fun to drive, gets good mileage and emissions, has room for kids, and will still look good with a clunky removable roof rack.

 

shouldda gotten the prius touring edition.

better mpg by leaps and bounde . but hey the xB does have the highest cool factor. lol

 

The way it was explained to me was the tips of the Irridiums were so fine that you could safely open the gap to get a stronger spark that made for a more complete burn of the mixture. It basically makes the engine more efficient. I tested it and it worked. I regapped the plugs just before a long road trip and made no other mods. My mpg's on average went up by 2-3 mpgs after I opened them up to .044 gap. Originally I just gaped them to factory setting and later found out about opening them up. Also seemed to have a slight increase in power too.

Use needle nosed pliers to adjust the gap being very careful because they are fragile. I used the flat blade style feeler gage.

 

Be sure to check out the Yakima rack system. Initial installation was a little strange because it does require a little bit of assembly & following directions well. Very sturdy well-attached hardware, with a variety of attachments and carriers available.

I marked the clip locations with some bits of reflectorized tape hidden under the door seals to make reinstallation easy. Mine's just the two cross rails, used mostly for odds&ends of lumber & home improvement supplies. After taking it off & putting it back on a couple of times, it now just stays, seeming to enhance the urban assault vehicle appearance...

 

I'd like to see pics of that.

 

Umm, doesn't a roof rack cause un-needed wind drag and less mpgs? They also look like butt.

 

Wind drag, yes. But sometimes you need to haul stuff and then the drag is less important than getting the canoe to the river or the skis to the slopes.
I'll be getting a removable because I seldom need the rack.

And hey, talk about wind drag. We're driving boxes!

 

Yes, but they actually have the same drag coefficientcy as a Viper. Skis actuall fit inside with the front seat folded down flat. A canoe is another matter. I just found it funny talking about a roof rack in this particular thread.

 

But don''t they cost $10,000 more than an xB?

 

I like the way they look, and don't mind the drag etc. But I don't have one on my xB because I am afraid of noise. I have an old removable gutter mounted rack that I used on a 1974 BMW and my 1991 Mazda truck. And a friend had a Yakima on her Honda Element. On all those cars, the roof rack made an unpleasant amount of noise. It made cruising speed almost unbearable. I took my rack off as soon as I was through carrying the lumber or whatever.

 

Techmom brought up the whole roofrack deal- I'm just trying to point her in the direction of some good hardware.

Mine doesn't seem to make much if any noise at highway speeds- maybe the more vertical windshield pushes air up over the rack, dunno...

And it might well detract from mpg out on the open road, but around town with occasional jaunts out on the freeways, it doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference...

 

I hate winter gas. It's such low quality. I just did a 1400 mile trip and the best mpgs I could get doing 70-80 mph was 29-30 mpgs

 

Winter gas is not low quality. It is refined differently to be more volatile, to aid in cold starting, but that is not a quality issue, and is not the reason for your mpg.
For those high 70-80 mph speeds, 30 mpg is all I would expect. I did a 2500-mile trip around 60-65 mph, on varied roads and terrain, with some visits into cities, and got 35 mpg.

 

I think the biggest bang for the buck mileage-wise is going to be the Scangauge. It was amazing how a teeny bit less pressure could bring mileage up. The kids and I averaged 40 mpg to NJ and 38 back to Baltimore.
I did not change the air filter 1/2 way so still have that to do later.

 

Is this scan gauge thingy just an OBDII scan reader tool or not cause I have one of those. How much does the scanguage cost on average???